Delicious.
A new version of the Grimms’ tale, told from the witch’s perspective.
The text immediately establishes the witch, named Willow, as a “good witch” who lives in a gingerbread house. When she encounters two children in the forest, she asks them to help clean up the trail of breadcrumbs they’ve left behind so it won’t attract mice. Alas, they refuse, and then Willow is aghast to find them, not mice, nibbling on her house. But because she’s a good witch, she doesn’t get angry; instead, she invites the children inside and prepares a meal. They leave no food for her and proceed to otherwise behave badly, but she “did not get angry, because Willow was a good witch” (a refrain). The mischief culminates in the children’s shoving Willow into an oven so they can have the house to themselves, and then they destroy it. Magical Willow emerges unscathed—and finally angry. A wordless spread depicts her with the children in a cooking pot and ingredients and cooking implements (including gingerbread-cookie cutters like those depicted on the case cover) surrounding them. The final image, like all the rest rendered in a limited black, orange, and white color palette and a bold, graphic style, depicts a gingerbread girl and boy on a plate: Hansel and Gretel have gotten their just deserts by becoming dessert for Willow, who “wasn’t ALWAYS a good witch.”
Delicious. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68263-073-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: July 31, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
For many readers, uneasy optics will take the fun out of this romp.
Llamas, alpacas, and clones—oh my!
In this sequel to Llama Destroys the World (2019), hapless Llama once again wreaks unintentional, large-scale havoc—but this time, he (sort of) saves the day, too. After making an epic breakfast (and epic mess), Llama decides to build a machine that will enable him to avoid cleaning up. No, not a vacuum or dishwasher: It’s a machine that Llama uses to clone his friend “of impeccable tidiness,” Alpaca, in order to create an “army of cleaners.” Cream-colored Llama and light-brown Alpaca, both male, are pear shaped with short, stubby legs, bland expressions, and bulging eyes. Paired with the cartoon illustrations, the text’s comic timing shines: “Llama invited Alpaca over for lunch. / Llama invited Alpaca into the Replicator 3000. / And then, Llama invited disaster.” Soon the house is full of smiling Alpacas in purple scalloped aprons, single-mindedly cleaning—and, as one might expect, things don’t go as planned. Mealtimes (i.e. “second lunch” and dinner) offer opportunities for the “alpacalypse” to emerge from Llama’s house into the wider world. Everyday life grinds to a halt as the myriad Alpacas bearing mops, dusters, and plungers continue their cleaning crusade with no signs of stopping. That is, until the Alpacas realize they are hungry….It’s all very funny, but the sight of the paler-coated Llama exploiting the darker-coated Alpaca, for whom nothing brings “more joy than cleaning,” is an uncomfortable one.
For many readers, uneasy optics will take the fun out of this romp. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-22285-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Empowerment in leaps and bounds.
A resourceful Rapunzel turns the tale askew.
Employing the same cropped, shifty-eyed cover style as her previous work (Little Red, 2016), Woollvin hints at mischief right at the start. This time, a certain gal with long golden locks is not as helpless as she may appear. Woollvin begins with Rapunzel already in the tower; there’s no mention of how she got there. But a witch, in a modish black hooded dress that makes it look as though she’s wearing a black traffic cone, keeps her imprisoned. The fairy tale’s well-known refrain is only sounded once: “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!” but readers will appreciate the hint of familiarity. No prince is needed in this version; instead Rapunzel uses her own hair to climb out of the tower and makes friends with woodland creatures who help her escape. She defeats the witch with cunning ingenuity—and advice from a book titled How to Defeat Witches. The blocky gouache illustrations in gray and black, strategically accented with yellow (such as the witch’s bloomers as well as Rapunzel’s hair), heighten the timbre, suggesting both deviousness and joy. A damsel no more, Rapunzel dons a black Zorro mask and takes on the rest of the witches in the forest (all of whom are as white as Rapunzel, but one is delightfully bearded).
Empowerment in leaps and bounds. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68263-003-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
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